Garment



Sept. 29, I G. M. M i-ILER I ,2 7,

' I v GARMENT Filed Sept. 24. 1940 FIG. 4-

. INVENTOR. GBAC M. MOHLEP. m,\ \m\ vmm ATTORNEYS.

Patented Sept. 29, 1942 1 UNITED; PATENT caries GARMENT Grace Ml'Mohler, (llevelandjyohio Application September 24, 1940,1SetialrNm358,-1-20 *rgclann. (0!. 2-76)" This invention: relates: to improvements in wearing apparel: and more particularly to the class of womens garments knownia's" maternity dresses, and its essential. aims areito provide a garment, especially of the. aforesaid. class; that is very neat: and attractive of? appearance; to provide. a maternity garment that:- may. be easily and conveniently adjusted: to progressive stages of development of the parts of the'rfigure that are affected; to provide "a maternity garment that retains its original style and. attractive appearance throughout the range of. adjustment; to provide a garmentthat is simple andteconomical of manufacture, and to provide a Washable garment, especially of the maternity class, that is so constructed as to facilitate washing and ironing.

These ends are attained by composing the garment of front and rear panels of fixed style or design that may be entirely separable from each other from the neck opening across the shoulders, throughout the sleeves, if any, and down the sides to the bottom of the skirt; or, if desired, the front and back panels may be separable as just described excepting at one or more of the following places: along the top of each sleeve, the contiguous part of the adjacent shoulder, and upwardly a short distance from the bottom of the skirt at each side. To provide for gradual enlargement, in the case of a maternity garment, expansion tabs of appropriate shape are attached to the lateral edges of one of the panels, preferably the back. The expansion tabs are, in effect, extensions of the panel to which they are attached, and they underlie the edge portions of the other panel, which edge portions are overlapped to the required extent and detachably connected to the underlying parts by suitable means, as by snap fasteners.

Originally, i. e., when the person starts wearing the garment and her size is only slightly abnormal, the extent to which the edge portions of the one panel overlie the extension tabs should be sufficient to practically conceal said tabs; and as the wearer enlarges, the fastening means are, from time to time, set nearer and nearer the free edges of the expansion tabs to take care of the gradual development of the figure. During all of this time, however, the garment retains, substantially, its original appearance, the front and rear panels remaining of the same design throughout the range of adjustment. The garment is thus distinguished from the rather bunglesome kinds of maternity dresses that,

originally, have a number of pleats or folds 55 across thefrontz'or' at the sides that are let out successively as: occasion requires. The present garment has, at all times; mbre'the appearance of a conventional :dress of current mode;

In; the accompanying: drawing; wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts: throughoutthe. several views, Fig. 1 is a perspective" view 'of 'my' improved maternity garment Fig. 2a isa side elevation thereof, with the near sleeve outstretched. toward the observer; Fig.) 3: is a spre'adout view of the front panel showing the: outside thereof, and Fig; is: a similar viewof the back panel showing the inside,

as thouglr ready to have the front panel laid oniand'atta'ch'ed toit.

' The; fizontt panel, 'd'esignated generally. by the reference numeral l, is made up of a waist section 2 and a skirt section 3 that are joined together by a cross seam 4 which, with a corresponding seam of the back panel, defines the waist of the garment. The waist section is shown as including front sleeve parts 5 that are finished at their outer ends by half-cuffs or bands 6. Across each shoulder, the waist section 2 is equipped with a row of buttons 1, and along each lateral edge of the front panel, from immediately adjacent the armhole to near the bottom of the skirt section 3 is a row of fastening means 8, which may be the receiving members of ordinary snap fasteners. Similar fastening means 9 may be applied to the ends of the half-cuffs or bands 6.

The back panel of the garment is designated generally by the reference numeral Ill, and it is made up of a waist section I2 and a skirt section I3. These sections are joined together by a seam I4 that corresponds to the seam 4 of the front panel. Rear sleeve parts I5 are carried by the waist section I2 and are provided with halfcufi's or hands I6. The shoulder portions of the waist section I2 have buttonholes I! for reception of the buttons 1 on the corresponding parts of the front panel. Attached to the lateral edges of the back panel III are expansion tabs 20. These tabs are widest in the region of the waist of the garment and gradually taper toward their upper and lower ends which, respectively, coincide with the adjacent armhole of the garment and with the bottom edge of the skirt. Adapted to be detachably connected, as by stitches, to the expansion tabs 20, originally in close proximity to the edge of the back panel, are fastening means 2| that are spaced according to the fastening means 8 of the front panel and which may consist of the entrant members of ordinary ly separable, the laundering of these parts is greatly facilitated. Now let it be assumed that they are separable from each other and are-in separated condition. In order to assemble the garment for use, the two panels are attached at that the armholes be opened at the bottom to allow ample adjustment in this region between the front and back panels.

An important feature of my improved maternity garment is the elevated waist line which serves to better conceal or camouflage the abnormal shape of the wearer.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

A maternity dress comprising a unitary front panel and a similar back panel, each being of fixed design and consisting of a waist section and a skirt section seamed together to define the waistline of the garment, the panels being shaped 'to provide, when assembled, a neck opening and armholes, means for separably connecting said the shoulders by engaging the outer ones of the button holes I! over the corresponding buttons],

when the garment may be dropped over the head of the wearer. The remaining buttons I are then fastened, the front and rear sleeve parts are connected together by the fastening means 9 and 22, and the lateral edges of the front panel are connected to the expansion tabs by the fastening means 8 and 2|.

In order to improve the fit and comfort of the garment, as well as its appearance, the waist sections of the front and back panels may be provided with groups of tucks or gathers 25.

If desired, the front and back panels may be permanently stitched together throughout the regions designated a and b in Fig. 1. In such a case, the sleeves may be open on their under-e sides, only, at least for apart of the distance outwardly from the armholes; and it is desirable panels together along the shoulders between the neck openingand the armholes, front and back sleeve parts attached to the waist sections of the respective front and back panels about the armholes, means for separably connecting together the outer ends of the front and back sleeve parts, expansion tabsextending along and connected to the lateral edges of but being otherwise distinct from the back panel, the lateral edge portions of the front panel being adapted to be lapped to a greater or less extent as single layers over said tabs, and fastening means for connecting the lateral edges of the front panel to the tabs, said fastening means consisting of separable parts that are carried, respectively, by the edge portions of the front panel and by the tabs, those on the tabs being adapted to be shifted laterally thereof.

GRACE M. MOHLER. 

